America On Stage Judge Training

 

Thank you for judging! We are excited to have you as our judge. Hopefully, this page will help you with tips on being a good judge here at America On Stage!

 

Click on the links below:
Dance Judge Training

Clogging/Power Tap Judge Training

 

Dance Training

START HERE:
Click on the score sheets below and then follow along with the instructions below.
Print them off if necessary.

America On Stage DANCE Judges Sheets
Dance Teams, Solos, Duos, Trios

 


 

How to Judge at America On Stage

1. Mark your Initials and the Team number on each score sheet at the top right.

2. There are TWO sides to each score sheet - Technical Merit and Artistic Expression

Technical Merit

Here you score dancers on how their TECHNIQUE is.

Look at the definitions on the score sheet.

Terms are there for
-SPECIFIC Technique
-Difficulty of the Dancer's Technique
-Difficulty of the Routine's Technique
-Dancer's Execution of Technique
-Dancer's Interaction
-Specific thoughts on the Beginning, Middle or Ending

When dancers do something positive, put a + by the term
When dancers do something positive, put a CIRCLE by the term
        (or circle the term).
Leave comments to the right on what is marked

 Artistic Expression
 

Here you score dancers on how their SHOWMANSHIP and PRESENTATION is.

Look at the definitions on the score sheet.

Terms are there for
-SPECIFIC Choreography. What did you think of the choreography.
-Dancer's Showmanship
-Dancer's Presentation
-Dancer's Appearance
-Dancer's Music
 

When dancers do something positive, put a + by the term
When dancers do something positive, put a CIRCLE by the term
        (or circle the term).
Leave comments to the right on what is marked


How to Score the Score sheet?
The Score Sheet is designed so you can mark and comment quickly and efficiently.

Dance Categories (Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Tap)
 

You need to give THREE scores on this score sheet.
  1. Circle a score based on what you think they deserve for Technique
       Perfect - 1st Place - 2nd Place - 3rd Place - 4th Place
  2. Circle a score based on what you think they deserve for Artistic Impression
       Perfect - 1st Place - 2nd Place - 3rd Place - 4th Place

 Use Perfect for those amazing teams.
Use 4th Place for really struggling teams
 
Most teams will score in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place areas.

Score each dance ACCORDING to the level. It is just fine to score a novice team perfect if they are a perfect novice team.
Avoid marking all novice teams in 3rd place, etc.

Justify your score with your
PLUSES, CIRCLES and COMMENTS.

Tell them what to work on and let them know what they also did well.
 

3. Give each entry a "Judges Bonus Score" (Overall Impression) at the bottom right between 5 - 9.
                    5, 6 = Bonus. 7,8,9 = HIGH GOLD Bonus.

 
 Examples of marked Score Sheets

What makes a score sheet marked CORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of pluses.
   Comments marked next to terms.
   If circles are marked, the score is not perfect, but is lower than perfect.
   Judges Bonus is awarded.
Dance Score sheet marked CORRECTLY

 


What makes a score sheet marked INCORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of circles.
   No Comments left, and just a generic Good at the bottom.
   All Pluses (no negatives marked, but the score is perfect.
   Judges Bonus is not awarded.
Dance score sheet marked INCORRECTLY

Dance score sheet marked INCORRECTLY circled

 

How many comments to leave?

We encourage you to have TWICE as many positive marks as negative.  A dancer always wants to know what to work on, but with positive feedback, dancers often are encourage to improve.

Add Plus and Circle marks by Terms and them comment on them quickly.

 


 

Scoring Breakdown
 

Technical Score Artistic Score Judges Bonus Award
5.0 (Perfect) 5.0 (Perfect) None Needed (Perfect Score) 1st Place High Gold
5.0 (Perfect)  4.9 (1st Place) Any Bonus 1st Place High Gold
       
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.9 (1st Place) 7, 8, or 9 1st Place High Gold
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.9 (1st Place) 5 or 6 1st Place
       
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 7, 8, or 9 1st Place
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 5 or 6 2nd Place
       
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 2nd Place
       
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 7, 8, or 9 2nd Place
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 5 or 6 3rd Place
       
 4.7 (3rd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 3rd Place
       
 4.6 (4th Place)  4.6 (4th Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 4th Place


-------------------------------------------

4. For your 3-10 top teams, fill out a JUDGES CHOICE nomination form & turn it in with score sheet.
Give out a Judges Choice nomination for any and all dances you like in overall impression!
There is really no limit to the number of Judges Choice nominations you can award.
The team with the most nominations (high score breaks any tie) is the judges choice team of the day

 

Judges Etiquette
Please don’t go talk with competitors!
It gives the appearance of judges favoring certain studios.
Please wait until the event is over to say hi to any familiar dancers.
 

 Smile when you judge.
Everyone likes to think the judge is happy with them.
And it builds confidence in them too.
 

       CONFIDENTIALITY
Please don’t visit with other judges and stay focused on dancers.
Talking with each other makes others think you are conferring what to give them. Dancers can be quite nervous and jump to quick conclusions!
 

Your Opinion
Score your own score, don’t worry if you are judging the same as another judge.
We want your opinion!
 

Adhere to the quick schedule
Each AOS event is assigned with times for each dance.
Be ready to score dancers during their dance and time allotted after the dance.
This allows us to stay on schedule

 

 How to Score on the Score Sheet
New Score Sheets format!
See the score sheets above on the links.
Be familiar with the areas for each score sheet.

Mark with COMMENTS, PLUSES, and ZEROES
1. By each term, if it's POSITIVE, mark it with a "+"

2. By each term, if it NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, mark it with a "O"

3. To the side of each term, you can leave COMMENTS on
What is done well and needs improvement

While everyone wants to know what to improve on,
please have twice as many positive comments as negative.
Hearing only negative comments drives confidence away.

 

Technical vs Artistic
Mark specific areas for specific comments  
Score TECHNICAL and ARTISTIC separately.
Dancers who excel in one area, mark it as such.

 

Score according to the level
 It’s alright to score a perfect novice dance if
they are perfect in the novice level.
You don’t need to give all novice entries 4.8 because
they are not in a higher level.
Score according to the level.
A perfect Novice dance should score a 10


Multiple Awards Scoring
Score according to how they did against a score
In our lower levels, you judge a team against a score.

 

Advanced Dance Scoring
Highest Levels scores against the competitors in their age division
In our highest levels, you judge a team against each other.

 

Basic Guidelines
Give us your opinion of how they danced TODAY (not on reputation)
If they danced the best of all up there, but not as good as you have seen them, you still give them the best score because they were the best today. Or vice versa, if they were not the best today, but are the best overall up there, they are not given the best score.


Judge artistic expression and technical merit separately - not a generic score
If they know how to smile well, but can’t stay on beat, maybe score them a 1st in artistic expression, but 3rd on technique. Don’t loop the scores together and give two 2nds…


  Score while you watch. We go fast.
Be ready! We have a schedule down to the minute.
Adding 15 seconds to each dance will put a competition over by an hour by days end. Once one entry is done, the next  is on stage. Score while you watch. The schedule assumes a short time after the dance to finish your score sheet. Thanks!


  DO NOT HOLD ANY JUDGE SHEETS
Once done, pass them to the judge runner.

  DON’T ADD SCORES.
It will be done by computer.

  LUNCH - DINNER - SNACKS PROVIDED 
(don't fill up on POP!)
Sitting for a long time can make one quite uncomfortable when full on pop!
 

NUMBERS
We no longer have numbers on teams, dance solos, duos, trios, or clogging long duets. There is a digital sign that has the number on it for you to write it down.

 

 

 

 



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clogging/Power Tap Training

START HERE:
Click on the score sheets below and then follow along with the instructions below.
Print them off if necessary.
 

America On Stage CLOGGING/POWER TAP Judges Sheets

Clogging Novice - Champ Teams & Long Duets

Clogging Freestyle, Short Duets, A Cappella

Clogging Pro Team and Clog Duets

 


 

 

How to Judge at America On Stage

There are TWO SCORE SHEETS for Clogging Teams and Duets
1. Novice - Champ Teams and Duets & 2. Pro Teams and Duets
Click here to jump to Pro instruction
 

Novice - Champ Teams and Duets Score Sheets Instruction

1. Mark your Initials and the Team number on each score sheet at the top right.

2. There are TWO sides to each score sheet - Technical Merit and Artistic Expression

Technical Merit

Here you score dancers on how their TECHNIQUE is.

Look at the definitions on the score sheet.

Terms are there for
-SPECIFIC Technique
-Difficulty of the Dancer's Technique
-Difficulty of the Routine's Technique
-Dancer's Execution of Technique
-Dancer's Interaction
-Specific thoughts on the Beginning, Middle or Ending

When dancers do something positive, put a + by the term
When dancers do something positive, put a CIRCLE by the term
        (or circle the term).
Leave comments to the right on what is marked

 Artistic Expression
 

Here you score dancers on how their SHOWMANSHIP and PRESENTATION is.

Look at the definitions on the score sheet.

Terms are there for
-SPECIFIC Choreography. What did you think of the choreography.
-Dancer's Showmanship
-Dancer's Presentation
-Dancer's Appearance
-Dancer's Music
 

When dancers do something positive, put a + by the term
When dancers do something positive, put a CIRCLE by the term
        (or circle the term).
Leave comments to the right on what is marked


How to Score the Score sheet?
The Score Sheet is designed so you can mark and comment quickly and efficiently.

You need to give THREE scores on this score sheet.
  1. Circle a score based on what you think they deserve for Technique
       Perfect - 1st Place - 2nd Place - 3rd Place - 4th Place
  2. Circle a score based on what you think they deserve for Artistic Impression
       Perfect - 1st Place - 2nd Place - 3rd Place - 4th Place

 Use Perfect for those amazing teams.
Use 4th Place for really struggling teams
 
Most teams will score in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place areas.

Score each dance ACCORDING to the level. It is just fine to score a novice team perfect if they are a perfect novice team.
Avoid marking all novice teams in 3rd place, etc.

Justify your score with your
PLUSES, CIRCLES and COMMENTS.

Tell them what to work on and let them know what they also did well.
 

3. Give each entry a "Judges Bonus Score" (Overall Impression) at the bottom right between 5 - 9.
                    5, 6 = Bonus. 7,8,9 = HIGH GOLD Bonus.

 
 Examples of marked Score Sheets

What makes a score sheet marked CORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of pluses.
   Comments marked next to terms.
   If circles are marked, the score is not perfect, but is lower than perfect.
   Judges Bonus is awarded.
Clog Score sheet marked CORRECTLY

 


What makes a score sheet marked INCORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of circles.
   No Comments left, and just a generic Good at the bottom.
   All Pluses (no negatives marked, but the score is perfect.
   Judges Bonus is not awarded.
Clog score sheet marked INCORRECTLY

Clog score sheet marked INCORRECTLY circled

 

How many comments to leave?

We encourage you to have TWICE as many positive marks as negative.  A dancer always wants to know what to work on, but with positive feedback, dancers often are encourage to improve.

Add Plus and Circle marks by Terms and them comment on them quickly.

 

 

Scoring Breakdown
 

Technical Score Artistic Score Judges Bonus Award
5.0 (Perfect) 5.0 (Perfect) None Needed (Perfect Score) 1st Place High Gold
5.0 (Perfect)  4.9 (1st Place) Any Bonus 1st Place High Gold
       
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.9 (1st Place) 7, 8, or 9 1st Place High Gold
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.9 (1st Place) 5 or 6 1st Place
       
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 7, 8, or 9 1st Place
 4.9 (1st Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 5 or 6 2nd Place
       
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.8 (2nd Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 2nd Place
       
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 7, 8, or 9 2nd Place
 4.8 (2nd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 5 or 6 3rd Place
       
 4.7 (3rd Place)  4.7 (3rd Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 3rd Place
       
 4.6 (4th Place)  4.6 (4th Place) 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 4th Place


-------------------------------------------

4. For your 3-10 top teams, fill out a JUDGES CHOICE nomination form & turn it in with score sheet.
Give out a Judges Choice nomination for any and all dances you like in overall impression!
There is really no limit to the number of Judges Choice nominations you can award.
The team with the most nominations (high score breaks any tie) is the judges choice team of the day

 

 

 

All Levels Freestyle, A Cappella, Short Duets, A Cappella Duets, All-Around Solos Score Sheets Instruction

Clogging Freestyle, A Cappella, Short Duets, A Cappella Score Sheet

Freestyle, A Cappella, Short Duet, A Cappella Duets
• Novice-Champ - Score either 1, 2, or 3. (1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place)
• Adv - Champ Dance off. Dancers need 3 - "1"s to make the dance off.

• Pro - Score 1.0, 1.1,…1.9, 2, 3 (If you score 1, add a tenth to break ties)
1.0 is the BEST score you can give.
Judge on its level – (Beginning as beginners do…)

 

All-Around Solos

CIRCLE SOLO CATEGORY ON TOP (Line. Show, etc). All levels score simply 1, 2, or 3
• 1st place – “ Solo done correctly without any major mistakes and/or high dance ability”
• 2nd place - “ Solo done correctly with limited major mistakes and/or medium dance ability”
• 3rd place - “ Solo done correctly with major mistakes and/or low dance ability”

 

Judges Etiquette
Please don’t go talk with competitors!
It gives the appearance of judges favoring certain studios.
Please wait until the event is over to say hi to any familiar dancers.
 

 Smile when you judge.
Everyone likes to think the judge is happy with them.
And it builds confidence in them too.
 

       CONFIDENTIALITY
Please don’t visit with other judges and stay focused on dancers.
Talking with each other makes others think you are conferring what to give them. Dancers can be quite nervous and jump to quick conclusions!
 

Your Opinion
Score your own score, don’t worry if you are judging the same as another judge.
We want your opinion!
 

Adhere to the quick schedule
Each AOS even is assigned with times for each dance.
Be ready to score dancers during their dance and time allotted after the dance.
This allows us to stay on schedule

 

 How to Score on the Score Sheet
New Score Sheets format!
See the score sheets above on the links.
Be familiar with the areas for each score sheet.

Mark with COMMENTS, PLUSES, and ZEROES
1. By each term, if it's POSITIVE, mark it with a "+"

2. By each term, if it NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, mark it with a "O"

3. To the side of each term, you can leave COMMENTS on
What is done well and needs improvement

While everyone wants to know what to improve on,
please have twice as many positive comments as negative.
Hearing only negative comments drives confidence away.

 

Technical vs Artistic
Mark specific areas for specific comments  
Score TECHNICAL and ARTISTIC separately.
Dancers who excel in one area, mar it as such.

 

Score according to the level
 It’s alright to score a perfect novice dance if
they are perfect in the novice level.
You don’t need to give all novice entries 4.8 because
they are not in a higher level.
Score according to the level.
A perfect Novice dance should score a 10


Multiple Awards Scoring
Score according to how they did against a score
In our lower levels, you judge a team against a score.

 

Pro Clog Scoring
Highest Levels scores against the competitors in their age division
In our highest levels, you judge a team against each other.

 

Basic Guidelines
Give us your opinion of how they danced TODAY (not on reputation)
If they danced the best of all up there, but not as good as you have seen them, you still give them the best score because they were the best today. Or vice versa, if they were not the best today, but are the best overall up there, they are not given the best score.


Judge artistic expression and technical merit separately - not a generic score
If they know how to smile well, but can’t stay on beat, maybe score them a 1st in artistic expression, but 3rd on technique. Don’t loop the scores together and give two 2nds…


  Score while you watch. We go fast.
Be ready! We have a schedule down to the minute.
Adding 15 seconds to each dance will put a competition over by an hour by days end. Once one entry is done, the next  is on stage. Score while you watch. The schedule assumes a short time after the dance to finish your score sheet. Thanks!


  DO NOT HOLD ANY JUDGE SHEETS
Once done, pass them to the judge runner.

  DON’T ADD SCORES.
It will be done by computer.

  LUNCH - DINNER - SNACKS PROVIDED 
(don't fill up on POP!)
Sitting for a long time can make one quite uncomfortable when full on pop!
 

NUMBERS
We no longer have numbers on teams, dance solos, duos, trios, or clogging long duets. There is a digital sign that has the number on it for you to write it down.

 

 

Pro

Pro Teams and Duets Score Sheets Instruction

America On Stage CLOGGING/POWER TAP Pro Judges Sheets

Clogging Pro Team and Clog Duets Score Sheet

 

 

• You need to give SEVEN scores and up to THREE DIFFICULTY BONUS, and a Judges Bonus Score.
 

Score each category with PLUSES for great and CIRCLES for negatives.
If a category is ALL PLUSES (no deductions), you score two Full and circle the difficulty Bonus "+0.02"
The FIRST negative you give leaves the category in Full and NO DIFFICULTY BONUS.
The SECOND negative you deem needs a deduction, goes to "-1"  and NO DIFFICULTY BONUS

*Don't give a "-1" and still a DIFFICULTY BONUS.
The Difficulty Bonus is the first deduction.


What makes a score sheet marked CORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of pluses.
   Comments marked next to terms.
   If circles are marked, the score is not perfect, but is lower than perfect.
   Judges Bonus is awarded.
Clog Pro Score sheet marked CORRECTLY

 


What makes a score sheet marked INCORRECTLY?
   A perfect score is awarded with lots of circles.
   No Comments left, and just a generic Good at the bottom.
   All Pluses (no negatives marked, but the score is perfect.
   Judges Bonus is not awarded.
Clog Pro score sheet marked INCORRECTLY

Clog Pro score sheet marked INCORRECTLY circled

 


Score most teams and duets with TWO SCORES ONLY – "FULL", or "-1"
(A "-2" can be given, but it's reserved for really struggling teams.)

Most great pro teams have only 0-3 deductions at most

If you don't give a bonus, there needs to be a circle showing why it's not perfect Full with a bonus

 

When you're done, you give a JUDGES BONUS (Overall Impression) of 1, 2, 3, or 4.
You're overall impression.

A Perfect score is all Full circled, all three Bonuses circled, and a "4" on Judges Bonus
 

PLEASE WATCH THE INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENTS for CATEGORY SPECIFICS (the top category).
CLOGGING PRO CATEGORY SPECIFICS

Each team/duet category has something specific to be judges. Use these boxes at the top to judge the specific items in each category.

 

Precision

·         Watch for Couple work. Turns, partners. This is not a line dance. Should have traditional costumes and music (words and pants are OK). 

·         Watch for Circle. Should involve both small and large circle figures.

Line

·         All done in lines. No touching, holding hands or circles.

·         Watch for straight lines, ripples (progessions), and movement.

Standing Line

A Cappella Production

·    2 judges will listen, three judges will score. (In Champ, one judge will listen and two will watch). For those that listen, you will use an A Cappella score sheet and mark your comments on how the sounds work in the dance. Score it out of 10. For those watching, score it with a normal score sheet and score it like a normal dance including choreography, sounds, style, etc and score it as a normal dance. There just isn’t any music.

A Cappella

·    5 judges will listen only. Top Score is 10

Traditional Line

Show

Open, Small, All Guys

Duets

 

PENALTY (Head) Judges sheet – appoint by stage – only fill out if have an infraction 

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